The Sign of the Cross is a 1932 American pre-Code epic historical drama film produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille, and released by Paramount Pictures. Based on the original 1895 play by English playwright Wilson Barrett,See Barrett (1896). the screenplay was written by Waldemar Young and Sidney Buchman. It stars Fredric March, Elissa Landi, Claudette Colbert, and Charles Laughton, with Ian Keith and Arthur Hohl.
This film is the third and last in DeMille's biblical trilogy, following The Ten Commandments (1923) and The King of Kings (1927). Both play and film have a strong resemblance to the 1895–96 novel Quo Vadis and, like the novel, take place in ancient Rome during the reign of Nero. The art direction and costume design were by Mitchell Leisen, who also acted as assistant director.
The Sign of the Cross premiered on November 30, 1932, and was a financial hit. Karl Struss was nominated for Best Cinematography at the 6th Academy Awards.Awards for The Sign of the Cross, IMDB.com; accessed August 5, 2015.
Plot
During the Great Fire of Rome in AD 64, Emperor Nero "fiddles". Tigellinus informs Nero that he is suspected of starting the fire. Nero instead has the fire blamed on the Christians. In Rome, the Apostle Titus, Mercia, and Favius are apprehended by a mob for being Christians. Marcus Superbus, the prefect of Rome, arrives and disperses the mob, allowing the Christians to go free.
News of Marcus's mercy towards the Christians spreads throughout Rome, including to Empress Poppaea. At a fountain, Marcus meets with Mercia again; there, Licinius reads Nero's edict to Marcus reminding him of his duty to arrest Christians. Later that night, Titus sends Stephan, a young Christian man, to tell other Christians of the secret meeting at the Cestian Bridge. Shortly after, Marcus arrives at Mercia's home wanting to take her for himself, but Mercia decides to stay. Stephan is arrested by Licinius under suspicion of being a Christian. In a dungeon, under torture Stephan reveals the location of the Christians' secret meeting.
After learning of Stephan's arrest and torture, Marcus races to the meeting hoping to save Mercia. Along the way, he crashes into Poppaea's carriage. She demands Marcus stay, but he leaves her and promises to be with her in the morning. At the meeting, Roman soldiers surround the Christians, and Titus and some members of his congregation are struck dead by arrows. Marcus arrives at the meeting and saves Mercia, and takes her home, while the other Christians are arrested and imprisoned.
The next morning, Poppaea scolds Marcus for his affections to Mercia. Elsewhere in the palace, Tigellinus informs Nero of Marcus's disobedience to his edict. Nero accuses Marcus of betrayal. Jealous of Mercia, Poppaea influences Nero to sign an order for Mercia's arrest. At a feast in Marcus's home, he introduces Mercia to Ancaria, who performs an exotic dance. Outside, Ancaria's performance is drowned out by the Christians' singing. Annoyed by the singing, Marcus sends his party away so he may be alone with Mercia. He tries to get Mercia to renounce her Christian faith so she may be with him, but she refuses. Shortly after, Licinius arrives to arrest Mercia, who is to be executed for treason amongst one hundred Christians in the arena.
Marcus returns to Nero's palace and demands that the emperor spare Mercia, but Nero refuses. In the arena, the audience is entertained by several spectacles, including gladiator battles. When the time for the Christians' execution arrives, Mercia is told to stay behind by Poppaea's orders, as she is to be executed alone. In the arena, the Christians are mauled to death by lions. Following the execution, Marcus again asks for Mercia to renounce her faith and be his wife. Mercia refuses once more, but she states that she loves him. Refusing to live without her, Marcus accompanies Mercia, and they are both executed.
Cast
Fredric March as Marcus Superbus, prefect of Rome Elissa Landi as Mercia Claudette Colbert as Empress Poppaea Charles Laughton as Emperor Nero Ian Keith as Tigellinus Arthur Hohl as Titus Harry Beresford as Favius Fontellus Tommy Conlon as Stephan Ferdinand Gottschalk as Glabrio Vivian Tobin as Dacia William V. Mong as Licinius Joyzelle Joyner as Ancaria Richard Alexander as Viturius Nat Pendleton as Strabo Clarence Burton as Servillius Harold Healy as Tybul Robert Manning as Philodemus Charles Middleton as Tyros Uncredited Mischa Auer as Christian in Dungeon Lionel Belmore as Bettor Henry Brandon as Spectator Edward LeSaint as Spectator
Production Development In 1931, when his three-picture contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer ended, producer-director Cecil B. DeMille found that he could "not get a job in Hollywood." His recent film, The Squaw Man (1931), was a box-office failure due to the Great Depression, and Hollywood studio executives were showing a "profound lack of interest in the obviously washed-up deMille". DeMille was vacationing in New York when he began planning his next production: a film adaptation of a play he had seen before, The Sign of the Cross by Wilson Barrett. It was something he wanted to do and it would also complete the "trilogy of religious dramas" he had started with his previous biblical epics, The Ten Commandments (1923) and The King of Kings (1927). DeMille saw The Ten Commandments as the giving of the Law, The King of Kings as the interpretation of the Law, and The Sign of the Cross as the preservation of the Law. Adolph Zukor, one of the founders of Famous Players–Lasky, had made a silent version of the play in 1914, but by the early 1930s Mary Pickford owned the film rights. DeMille went to England and encountered people who wanted to make films with him and liked the idea of The Sign of the Cross, but these plans fell through because they could not get a guarantee from an American film distributor.
By the time DeMille returned to Famous Players–Lasky, the studio had changed its name to Paramount-Publix and had moved to a new location on Melrose Avenue. In early 1932, Neil S. McCarthy and Paramount executive B. P. Schulberg negotiated a one-picture contract for DeMille so he could make The Sign of the Cross at Paramount. Waldemar Young and Sidney Buchman worked on the script. Schulberg was soon succeeded as Paramount's studio head by Emmanuel Cohen, who said to DeMille, "Remember, Cecil, you are on trial with this picture." At first, DeMille was only allowed to bring Mitchell Leisen and Roy Burns with him to Paramount, but eventually secretary Florence Cole and editor Anne Bauchens rejoined his studio staff.
By June 1932, DeMille had spent 10 months preparing for the film, which he had been trying to produce for the past 12 years. With an estimated budget close to $1,000,000, DeMille expected to film it in eight to 10 weeks, beginning in July.
Casting In London, DeMille saw Charles Laughton in the play Payment Deferred: "I knew that I had found the only man to play Nero if I ever achieved my dream of making The Sign of the Cross. […] I saw in Charles Laughton the incredibly wide range of talent which makes every role he plays seem as if it had been tailored just for him."
DeMille tried to borrow George Brent from Warner Bros. for the role of Marcus, but Brent was in demand at Warners and would not be available to play the part. DeMille then chose Fredric March on June 7, 1932.
In early June, columnist Louella Parsons wrote that DeMille "was never one who moves rapidly. He chooses his players with infinite care." In mid-June, RKO contract player Ann Harding was said to be DeMille's leading choice for the role of Mercia, but she could only play the part if her studio was willing to loan her to Paramount. Several days later, DeMille and Paramount were trying to borrow newcomer Ann Dvorak, under contract to Howard Hughes, for "one of the most coveted roles in Hollywood at the moment." DeMille, in his search for a young woman who could combine "spirituality and physical allure", looked at more than 500 applicants. At one point, he chose Sylvia Sidney. After screen-testing dozens of blond actresses, DeMille borrowed Elissa Landi from Fox on June 30. He said he chose Landi because she "combines mysticism and sex [appeal] with the pure and wholesome, and has the depth of the ages in her eyes, today in her body and tomorrow in her spirit." Landi was the third star to be cast.
For the role of Nero's wife, Poppaea, DeMille wanted an actress who personified "wickedness cloaked with beauty". He considered silent film stars Pola Negri and Norma Talmadge, but found them unsuitable. In his autobiography, DeMille said he thought of Claudette Colbert, an actress "Paramount had been using in a succession of fluffy, light-headed roles which, I felt, did not give scope enough to the talent she had." He saw her on the Paramount lot one day and asked her, "Claudette, how would you like to play the wickedest woman in the world?" She replied, "I'd love it!" Colbert later recalled, "I'd been in kind of a rut playing nice, long‐suffering heroines. I was bored with those roles, but because I happened to look like a lady, that's all they wanted me to play. Working with DeMille opened up a whole other field; they realized I could look sexy." DeMille decided to schedule a screen test with Colbert before he signed her for the part; he gave her a page of a scene between Marcus and Poppaea and told her to study it. On the day of the test, DeMille saw her in costume and thought "there was no doubt that she fitted the part visually." Colbert and March rehearsed the scene before DeMille filmed the screen test:
In late July, Broadway stage actress Vivian Tobin was given the supporting role of Dacia. A friend of Tobin's took her to Paramount, where DeMille saw her, asked her to take a screen test, and signed her for the part five minutes later.
Art direction and set design
Set designers Harold Miles and Julian Harrison drew sketches of Nero's court, his throne room, and the doors and stairs to the arena. 400 artisans worked for four months constructing the sets for The Sign of the Cross. The full-scale sets included the Roman arena, the grove of Sylvanus, the Roman street Via Severus, Poppaea's marble bath, Marcus' palatial house, Dacia's banquet hall, Nero's court, Nero's throne room, and the dungeons. For the Great Fire of Rome scene, studio workers spent three weeks constructing replicas of ancient Rome at the Paramount ranch, located 30 miles from Hollywood.
Costumes The film's ancient Roman costumes required 27 miles of silk, cotton, wool, and linen; 300 cutters and seamstresses worked on them over a period of several weeks. 7,000 extras had to be costumed with the same number of pairs of leather sandals, wide leather belts, leather leggings, arm bands, and leather chest protectors. Paramount installed a jewelry shop on the studio lot and hired designers and goldsmiths to create ancient Roman jewelry props. These props included ornaments made of brass, bronze, silver, and gold, depending on the character's station, with a laurel leaf or a lion head design. 4,000 wigs were made, and 450 extras playing soldiers were outfitted with helmets, swords, spears, sandals, leather shin guards, cuirasses, and arm bands. Fredric March's breastplate and brass chain mail weighed a total of 75 pounds.
Filming